What it Was
by Tamabonotchi
Summary: ONE-SHOT. What kind of dream was that? A dream that was not a nightmare, but you woke up in a cold sweat, heart erratic. One short morning Rukia spends over a dream. It was not like she would react if it was someone like Kaien- it was him.


**A/N: **Yes, I've been dead for quite a while. School and such is nearing an end so I've been busy with all sorts of projects teachers are cramming at the end along with tests, quizzes, and exams. The only reason I was even able to write this in a few days was sudden interest in writing this and some free time.  
This was inspired by a fanart I just love staring at from a Japanese fanartist, and somehow I could write it.  
In my dreams.

**Disclaimer: **Bleach is by Kubo, who is making me angry boring Bleach. A little spoiler if you somehow skipped over the tale of Kaien & Rukia. Is this a little OOC? I'm not quite sure how to label it, really. Enjoy!

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_A rustle of blankets close to her woke her up, but she did not open her eyes just yet._

_She listened as footsteps shuffled out of the room, until she heard the padding no more._

_She rolled onto her back as a small sigh escaped her lips with the soft bed enticing her to fall asleep, but her eyes fluttered open instead. Her eyes met the pale white of the ceiling as she remained still and quiet for a minute or two, just staring up. The smell of fresh air brought nostalgia, along with the rest of her senses. It was the feeling being in a bed like she slept in Soul Society, soft but still feeling the presence of the wooden floor. There was the sound of wind rustling the branches of trees, and even the sound of a pond nearby._

_She laid there taking in everything to the peaceful scene, not breaking her gaze up at the ceiling._

_The next moment, orange locks entered her field of vision, and soon her eyes met the chocolate of his. She could see a small smile on his face before he noticed she was staring back at him, which then turned into a smirk._

_"Ohayo, 'bout time you woke up." He greeted._

_"Ichigo…" She muttered. Seeing his face without any furrowed brows awed her, not to mention how he looked, despite being upside down. "Good morning," She answered. His sat down on the floor above the covers and leaned back so both could still see each other. There was no awkward tenseness in the room- it felt nice._

_"You know, it surprised me to wake up this morning to find you still sleeping. Usually you're up at some ungodly hour, waiting on __me to wake up at 9 in the morning." He muttered as he toyed with the locks of her hair that was strewn on the pillow. It felt natural for him to._

_"So have you been waiting for me to wake up?" She asked. Her hand came up to catch his own as both rested back down onto the floor._

_"Yeah." He replied._

_"For how long?" She asked, a small smile creeping onto her face. His face lowered, getting closer to her skin, but his stare remained the same, great intensity._

_"Ever since we met."_

"ICHIGOOOOOOOO!" The scream of Isshin vibrated through the house, along with the loud bang right after. Rukia's eyes snapped open as she sat up in a second, panting. She looked down to find herself in a bed, sitting on a mattress.

She turned her head to see the rest of Yuzu's and Karin's bed room, with empty and made beds.

"What…?" She muttered, still trying to calm the erratic beats of her heart.

"Get the hell out of here!" She stiffened as Ichigo's voice rang through the house. She froze in place as more noise of Isshin being kicked and falling down the stairs, followed by Ichigo's muttering of his father's stupidity.

When everything was calm again, Rukia sighed, not noticing she was holding her breath.

"What… was that?" She mumbled to herself as she brought her hand up to her forehead. She felt her flush cheeks.

"It was a dream…" She sighed.

But it was the dream that made her feel queasy.

"Rukia-nee, are you alright?" Yuzu's voice called from the other side of the bedroom door.

"Ah- yes, I'm fine." Rukia answered. She stepped out of the bed Ichigo's father took from the clinic and walked over to the door. She opened it up to see a concerned Yuzu in her apron.

"O-okay then. Well, breakfast is ready!" She turned and walked back down stairs.

"Ichi-nii, was Rukia-nee feeling OK yesterday?" Rukia could hear Yuzu inquire from down in the dining room. She heard a voice that might have been Karin's, until Isshin's yell echoed clearly up the stairs.

"Wha-t? What's wrong with Rukia-chan?! Ichigo, did you do something terrible to my third daughter?!" Isshin yelled, and soon the noise of dishes clattering and two men struggling echoed.

Rukia held her arm, trying not to tremble.

The image of his eyes burned in her mind, despite her telling herself to stop it.

She has had dreams of Kaien that were similar- feeling light and wonderful, only to wake up in a cold sweat.

But this felt even more intense. Rukia couldn't even calm down her heart and it had been quite a while.

"Rukia? Oi Rukia, are you ready?" Her body immediately stiffened the second the voice of the person she could not talk to rang out outside the door.

"Ahh…" She muttered, leaning against the door.

"Rukia, is there something wrong?" He called.

"I'm fine, really!" Rukia said. She looked around frantically in the small bedroom and noticed her school uniform lying at the end of her bed. She rushed over and took her blouse as she began unbuttoning the top of her pajamas.

"Rukia, are you sure?!" Ichigo's voice was started to sound irritated.

"A-ah!" She replied.

"You're not evening answering in complete sentences! How the hell are you fine?!" He said.

"I-I'm fine!" Rukia stuttered. She ripped off the top and slipped into the blouse, hurriedly buttoning it up.

"…Fine then. Just don't be too slow in getting ready." Ichigo said, worried etched into his voice.

"Ahh…" Rukia replied as she stood perfectly still, listening as his solid footsteps faded away.

Before she knew it, she sank to the floor, holding her aching head.

She reached over for her skirt and sluggishly pulled it on, discarding the last article of her night wear. She soon stood up, full uniform and ready to leave. She breathed deeply for a few moments, readying herself when she finally came out.

To even think, such a fast dream that had very little happen would keep her that shocked.

But she knew the reason why, as she walked out of the room and went downstairs. She made not contact with the Kurosaki family, who were all probably getting ready for the day.

She had her shoes on and had stood back up when the catalyst for her whole ordeal the morning appeared.

"The midget finally appeared." He muttered, seeming in a bad mood already.

"What are you so cranky about?" She asked as they walked outside. She was thankful he wouldn't look at her, feeling like she wouldn't be able to take the intense stare again.

"You're such a pain, causing so much noise this early in the morning because you were taking you good, old time getting ready and worrying Yuzu." He complained, his scowl deepening.

"Look who's talking- you wouldn't even let me get dressed in peace." She argued. He glared at her and she smirked, but it didn't last long until she was the one avoiding eye contact, her cheeks getting hot again.

_'Those damn eyes…' _ She cursed herself.

"You're the one acting weird- you're not planning anything, are you?" He asked, sounding suspicious.

"N-no, I'm not planning on running away or anything. I always have the decency to tell you, too. Let it go." She answered, gritting her teeth. She left Ichigo in the dust as she sped on, not looking back to see if he was trying to catch up with her.

After losing sight of him after turning a corner, Rukia stopped and tried to calm down, feeling her cheeks burning.

She couldn't even stand up and argue with him properly.

_'I'm in such a crappy state… All because of that dream.' _ She continued silently cursing herself.

But it wasn't just because of the dream.

It was because of _him._

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**A/N: **Thanks so much for reading, please do comment! I'm getting lonelier without new emails about such things.


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